Back in May, Councilmember (then-candidate) Como answered our questions for our League of Preservation Voters for District 30 and participated in our forum. It’s early days yet, but any meeting between a Councilmember and a city agency which is characterized by both sides as “positive” and “constructive”  can only be viewed as a step in the right direction.

New councilman Anthony Como vows to push landmarking in Queens

BY NICHOLAS HIRSHON, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, August 4th 2008, 8:41 PM

Barely a month into his first term, City Councilman Anthony Como has boldly pledged to help landmark historic swaths of Richmond Hill and Ridgewood - and even areas outside of his eastern Queens district.

Como, picked in a June special election to replace Dennis Gallagher, made his vow days after what he called a “very positive” powwow with Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman Robert Tierney - and months before Como faces another election in November.

“We live in the greatest city in the world and anything I can do to save its history and its culture, I’m all for it,” said the Middle Village Republican, adding his sitdown with Tierney last week was a way to form a relationship “from the beginning.”

During a two-hour meeting Tuesday at Landmarks Commission headquarters in Manhattan, Como told Tierney he supports historic districts in Richmond Hill and Ridgewood, as well as landmarking the Forest Park Carousel in Woodhaven.

The pair also talked about St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church in Maspeth, built in 1847 but denied landmark status when the commission ruled that repairs after a 1970 fire had altered it too much.

Kate Daly, a commission spokeswoman, said the meeting with Como was “constructive,” and that the agency was evaluating the sites he mentioned.

Richard George has been fighting for preservation in the Rockaways for decades and he’s making some headway….

His cottage industry: preserving Rockaway bungalow communities

BY ASYA FARR, DAILY NEWS WRITER

Longtime Far Rockaway resident Richard George has made it his mission to preserve the homey bungalows that once defined the seaside community.

And he has proven he’s not afraid to take his cause to court.

A state judged recently ruled in favor of George, deciding that a row of three-family apartment buildings on Beach 26th St. was improperly built, blocking a longstanding easement that runs parallel to the street and gives waterfront access to many bungalows.

But for George, who is president of the Beachside Bungalow Preservation Association of Far Rockaway, that ruling hardly marks the end of his mission.

In September, another lawsuit filed by George - this one against the 2,300-unit Arverne by the Sea project - is set to go before a federal judge.

As with the case he won in May, George says the megadevelopment hinders local access to the beaches.

“All the adjacent homeowners cannot access the beach,” said George, who has restored several bungalows and now rents some of them.

In May, the court ruled that the developers and the city were in violation of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, which states that seaside resources must be preserved for public use. All projects in coastal areas - including beachfront land - must follow the act.

In his ruling, the judge noted that George was eligible for monetary damages, but George instead wants the buildings demolished.

For more info about Richard and his campaign to preserve this remarkable enclave see;

The Beachside Bungalow Association of Far Rockaway

A Man’s Beach Bungalow Is His Castle

Last Stand For a Bungalow Backwater

Dorm Looms Over Neighborhood
by Jillian Abbott , Queens Chronicle Reporter

Attempts to halt or even slow St. John’s University from building a six-story dorm on Henley Road in residential Jamaica Estates appear to have failed.

St. John’s confirmed that construction continues at the site, located at 172-14 Henley Road, despite an independent engineer’s report that identified 33 deficiencies in the plans and construction of the building. The independent engineer, Joel Miele of Miele Associates, warned state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) that there was little chance that his findings would stop the construction, according to Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows). Miele found that the plans had inadequate provisions for handicapped bathrooms, fire safety, ventilation and lighting.
The 485-bed dorm, which is rapidly approaching completion, has risen above the height of one-family homes to tower over the neighborhood, dominating the view for several blocks around.

Approved because of a loophole that designates dorms as community facilities and allows then to be built to almost twice the height of zoned businesses and residences, the dorm has met with community opposition at every turn.

Upon receipt of the report, Padavan wrote to the Department of Buildings asking them to address the deficiencies and stop the construction. But following a meeting between the developer, David Belt, of H2H Residences LLC, and representatives of the DOB, the plans were found to be in full compliance with codes. Of the 33 deficiencies, all but one required only minor modifications, according to the DOB.

The one substantial change to the plans was the provision for a smoke door in a corridor that runs longer than 125 feet. A smoke door is a door or set of doors placed in a corridor to restrict the spread of smoke and to retard the spread of fire by reducing draft. A spokesman for the DOB said that while this was a serious issue, it had been addressed and other issues, such as the size provision for handicapped bathrooms was exceeded in the plan because they were eight feet wide and the code requirement is for seven feet. He was unable to explain why Miele found the plans inadequate in this regard when the DOB found them to be compliant.

©Queens Chronicle 2008

The Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) is today claiming victory over notorious developer, Tommy Huang, (destroyer of the officially landmarked RKO Keith’s Theater of Flushing) who illegally constructed a house at 57-39 Mazeau Street in Maspeth in 2006.  The house was built contrary to plans presented to and approved by the NYC Department of Buildings and in violation of the R4-1 zoning for the area. Huang had demolished the garage on the premises without a permit and then constructed a 4-story, 3-family house on the site.  He has now removed the top story and a section on the side of the house that encroached on the lot next door.

“This is a big victory for Maspeth because it shows unscrupulous developers that the community is watching and they won’t be able to get away with this type of action,” said Robert Holden, JPCA President.

“This is like a cancer in the community.  Once the first illegal building is constructed, others are sure to follow,” said Tony Nunziato, Chair of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force.  “I am glad that the Department of Buildings has kept on top of this situation and has forced the developer’s hand.”

The permit for the property was revoked by Department of Buildings Queens Borough Commissioner Derek Lee after a November 15, 2006 audit which found 23 objections, including non-compliance with the R4-1 zoning code and misuse of the Community Facilities Provision of the zoning code. The Juniper Park Civic Association held rallies at the site in December 2006 and December 2007 with Councilman Tony Avella, Chair of the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee, who has also been keeping a watchful eye on the property.  Together, he and JPCA pushed for an audit of the property and called for the house to either be legalized to conform with current zoning codes or be forcibly demolished by the City.

The NYC Department of Buildings again audited the site on July 6, 2007.  They still found objections at that time requiring correction.

“Right off the bat, you can tell this house is in non-compliance because R4-1 is a contextual zone that allows for no more than 2-family houses,” explained Paul Graziano, urban planner and President of the Historic Districts Council.

Manny Caruana, JPCA Board Member and Community Board 5 Member, lives in the vicinity and was the first person to take notice and report the problems at the site to the Department of Buildings.  “It took a long time to get results, and we only got this far because neither we, Tony Avella nor DOB caved in.  None of us stopped watching what was going on here,” he said.  “The fact that Huang has been forced to comply and not just pay a fine restores a little bit of my faith in DOB.”

The Queens Civic Congress (QCC) has also been following this story from the beginning.  “Queens Civic Congress calls on all would-be violators of the City’s Zoning laws and its Building code to be on notice,” stated Corey Bearak, President of QCC. ”No excuses.  Either comply with the law and the code or any illegal structure you build will need to be cut down to its rightful and legal size.  This simple message should resonate throughout the industry and we welcome this intervention by the Department of Buildings and thank Commissioner Robert LiMandri for following through on this and many other matters brought to his attention.  Special recognition and thank you goes to Juniper Park Civic Association for fighting for the community and never letting up.”

“It’s about time that DOB listened to the community and forced notorious developers like Tommy Huang to conform to the building and zoning codes,” said Councilman Tony Avella.  “It still is a shame that the community has to be the ones to force the DOB to enforce its own regulations.”

The house currently has a full stop-work order on it - with today’s date.  It was briefly lifted to allow for the correction of violating conditions.  Huang must prove that the house is in compliance with all DOB directives before being issued a permit to finish the structure.  JPCA and Councilman Avella will continue to monitor the progress of work at the site.